Bites, broken bones, no apologies (updated)

It is actually unbelievable, isn’t it, that John Tortorella hasn’t issued a public apology, a mea culpa, for A) hitting a woman in the head with a water bottle and B) being suspended for Game 6 of a playoff series after talking about discipline? That he feels no need to make amends with the fans?

Here is the news from today: Blair Betts has a broken orbital bone in addition to a concussion. So he’s out long term. Donald Brashear has a hearing with the NHL today regarding the hit — which Tortorella said was not an elbow, but said it was “a head shot and late.”

Artem Anisimov was recalled from Hartford, but Tortorella is not sure if he will play, or if both Colton Orr and Aaron Voros will be in the lineup.

I’ll be back shortly with some quotes, especially Tortorella refusing to talk about his suspension, in confrontational fashion.

Here, though, is the quote of the day, from Brandon Dubinsky, who had his right wrist wrapped, where he was allegedly bitten by Shoane Morrisonn (who denied it) in Game 6, and received a tetanus shot and antibiotics:

“The last time I saw that happen was Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield … in a sporting event, that is.”

—————-

AFTERNOON UPDATE, 12:44 P.M.: Here’s the text of Larry Brooks of the Post having the guts to go face-to-face with Tortorella, and Tortorella stubbornly refusing to take any responsibility, or to be accountable, for his actions in D.C. that left his team short-handed for a crucial playoff game:

LB: Your response to being suspended?
JT: “I have no response. I’m not discussing that.”
LB: “You’re not discussing the fact that you were suspended for a playoff game?”
JT: “That’s just what I said. I’m not discussing that. Next question.”
LB: “You’re unbelievable, John. Unbelievable.”
JT: “You guys have your opinions on that, write ‘em.”
LB: “So, like, a player commits a mistake during a game, he doesn’t have an obligation to talk about it?”
JT: “You guys think you’re entitled to all information, Larry. I’m not giving you any information.”
LB: “I’m not asking for information. I’m asking your opinion of being suspended in the middle of a playoff series.”
JT: “You have an opinion. You don’t need me in the conversation.”
LB: “I need your opinion.”
JT: “You don’t need mine, and I’m not gonna give it to you. Next question, please.”

My opinion: Tortorella couldn’t be more wrong here. He messed up royally, on the day he scratched an important player, Sean Avery, for his lack of discipline. He put his team in a bad spot at a huge time, and he brought embarrassment on the franchise — which doesn’t seem capable of being embarrassed.

More in a few minutes.

————–

AFTERNOON UPDATE, 1:57 P.M.: More Tortorella:

On Brashear clobbering Betts: “It’s a head shot and it’s late. It’s definitely not an elbow, but it’s a head shot and it’s awful late.”

On Game 6: “I thought we played a good first period. We made two key mistakes and they ended up in our net. … then we lost ourselves in the second. … we made some key mistakes where really we blew ourselves up.”

On the offense: “We are what we are. We struggle to score goals. It’s gone on all year long, and we need to try to get a lead in Game 7 here, just for the mindset of the hockey club. That’s what it effects — your mindset.

On Lundqvist: “Concerns about Hank? Well, Hank’s got to play better and he knows that. … but with Hank, and the reason I’m not talking to him, is he battles. He gets it. And for us to have an opportunity he has to be really good. Like, early in the series he was really good, and that’s why we have an opportunity to play a Game 7, because he won some of those early games.

“It’s been a little bit of a fight here, but i don’t have to say one word to him. He gets it, and that’s what I like about him. I know the fight that he has in him.”

On Avery: “Sean’s a guy that in yesterday’s game I thought was good in spurts. He’ll be better in Game 7. He’ll be better in Game 7.”

On the effort of his best players: “I don’t think it has to do with effort. It’s just simple. We had some chances to finish and we didn’t get it done. I’ll tell you when I watch it, I know it’s not effort. I’m not saying all of them, and I’m not going to give you names, but I most of our guys are trying — our top players. So it’s a matter of feeling the pressure a little bit, to score a big goal at a key time. They care. I’m not going ot say these guys don’t care. They don’t like being embarrassed in their own building … it’s been a fight. I know it’s been a fight prior to when I came here, and it’s been a fight since I came, too.”

On Game 7: “The greatest thing is, I woke up this morning and you’re upset, and yeah, you blow a 3-1 lead in the series, and it’s 3-3. But we come here to prepare to play a Game 7. We go into their building, and we’ve won two games there.

“They have the advantage because it’s home ice. I’ve said, home-ice in Game 7 … but it’s funny what happens with the pressure and all. They’re supposed to win. I bet I can poll everybody here and nobody thought we’d get to a Game 7 in teh series when it started.”

When a few writers claimed they picked Capitals in 7, Tortorella smiled and said, “Then I’ll poll you right now, who thinks we’re going to win tomorrow?”

And when nobody raised a hand, he said, “There we go.

“I appreciate your honesty, but there’s no pressure on us. We’re going to go there and compete in a Game 7 because everybody thinks we’re done. And it falls back on them. … It’s funny what happens with the pressure.”

On the team being ready to go tomorrow:

“Again, we’ve got the wrong people on the bus if we have to go in there with a big speech as far as getting them ready to play.”

As far as feeling safe on the bench: “Oh. yeah. I’m sure it’ll be fine. That isn’t even in my mind. This is Game 7 and the only focus is the hockey team.”

Wow. talk about a woman who completely wasted valuable space for a news story depicting a Capital team who is on the verge of pulling off something that not many teams can say they have done – which is coming back from a 3-1 series deficit. No. Instead she focuses on NY as being whiners.

The real question is why is Anisimov they only player called up? I’d rather have some of the kids in who will at least give it all they have instead of drury,zherdev,antropov etc.But no the incompetent gm doesn’t try and bring some life to his team and send a message about giving your all. Nah he’s to busy writing letters to buttman. One and done just as I said earlier in the season,even though after renney left I thought just maybe but not with these players. I mean they played voros for gripes sake.The cryers are out and next I hope the devils. Then how many days until the draft?

Guys, please stop complaining about the refs. Yes, the officiating sucked, but we didn’t lose the game because of bad calls.

The Rangers lost the game because they gave no effort. And they lost game 5 for the same reason. No battle in this team. No one is skating like they actually care, except for 3 or 4 players.

It’s the Stanley Cup Playoffs for ‘effin sake. Real hockey players would give their left arm to even have the opportunity to play in the playoffs. The Rangers played like they were pissed off that they had to be stuck inside the Garden yesterday when it was so nice outside.

Nasty, I agree with 1…and I think we have a 50% chance of winning…Duh!
But that being said…I can’t even explain in my own head what has happened. What happened to Betts would have taken the heart out of me for sure.
What happened to Dubi is just disgusting I mean, what the hell is wrong with players.

The Rangers are in complete disarray. It is amazing that we were up 3-1 in this series after being outplayed badly. The Rangers have no immediate help coming their way for next year as we are stuck with Roszival (one of the worst defensemen ever – just look at Washington’s first goal Friday) for 3 years , Redden (who leads the league in icings) for 3 years, Drury (the quietest captain in league history – hardly a way to lead) and 3 years, Gomez (another heartless fat wallet acquisition). Will be a long haul for the next several years… hope you have the stomach for it.

Not to mention the biggest clown of all Sean Avery, who was one of the least effective players yesterday.

anisimov should definitely be playing and ahead of drury (and probably gomez as well). end of the day who cares if brashear is suspended, doesn’t change the fact that betts is done and our offense (and most of our defense) is terrible. hank has to be perfect tmrw nite for us to have a chance

Yeah Carp, I’m in the crappiest of moods…Why the hell would Torts appologize? I would have done the same thing.
should he have done nothing?
He was talking about discipline to his players like Avery, who’s stupid penalties may have played a major part also in the turnaround of this series.
I have a funny feeling that Tuesdays game isn’t gonna be pretty.

What for? For defending his players in what was obviously and intentionally a poorly policed area?

For serving a suspension that was outrageous?

Have the Caps issued an apology for creating an unsafe environment for the Rangers, and not taking the necessary precautions to prevent or deter such activity. Or, how about not even doing the right thing during and after it had already taken place?

Carp, you’ve gone off the deep end. You’re trying so hard to not be biased for the Rangers that your actually biased against.

Mr. Carpinello
I agree with you 100% Torts is dead wrong and in my opinion acting like a spoiled kid. I have a question. If the coach felt threatened, or was bothered by the fans so much, what would have happened if he took the team off the ice and went back to the dressing room until the problem was addressed?

torts and brooks have some history but guys come on TORTS has to apologize here-i mean trust me i understand he is passionate etc etc and drunken fools are yelling girardi u f— fa— just like they did at the garden last night poti u fu— fa….all this soap opera sh–and u really feel like the season is already over-this team/organization has to focus on a game 7

at the beginnning of the series most knowledgeable rangers fans probably would have been happy with a chance to win one game on the road to move on…..i just hope the rangers are focusing on GAME 7!

This team is so done. And to think, apparently the adversity that pushed them over a sudden cliff to oblivion was killing off 2 crucial powerplays to preseve a hard fought victory off a few ill-advised penalties to give them an unexpected 3-1 series lead on the Caps.

I mean really, I understand how it is very possible to blow a 3-1 lead, especially given the two teams involved. But how on earth did the team play a fantastic game Wednesday night – and it wasn’t just Henrik, guys were diving, blocking shots, playing great defense – and then come apart like a cheap suit 2 days later?

Was it the benching of Avery?

How on earth did Henrik Lundqvist go from being the the best goaltender on the planet to being Mike Dunham in 48 hours? How does that happen? Doesn’t a “Hot goalie” theoretically stay hot?

I could understand if the Caps were just too much and came back and won the series, but how is it that the Rangers – UP 3 games to 1, not down – suddenly seemed to stop giving a rat’s ass?

Are you guys saying you’re alright with the coach of your team doing something stupid and irresponsible to get himself suspended from a critical playoff game?

Coach should be accountable for his actions and Larry Brooks is the man for being persistent and warranting a response from John. If torts can throw water bottles in the crowd and make our franchise look bush league then Brooks should be able to fire any question.

Torts is just another part of the NY Rangers organization to be disgusted with. We are not the laughing stock of the NHL as we were in the late 90’s early 2000 – but we are quickly becoming a very classless organization.

Even where a fan is verbally abusive, intoxicated, or profane,
Club personnel should either ignore the conduct or, where appropriate,
seek the assistance of police or security personnel at the arena.

This prohibition extends to all forms of physical contact,
whether it be direct physical contact, the throwing of objects (including hockey sticks
and other equipment), or even the squirting of water. While the latter form of
conduct may have, in the past, seemed to be of a minor or harmless character,
such conduct may serve only to incite and provoke an unruly fan and may ultimately
lead to unforeseen consequences.

Accordingly, please be on notice that all Club personnel
(management, coaches, trainers, and/or players) who engage in any
form of physical contact with fans, including the squirting of water,
will, on a going forward basis, be subject to discipline in the form
of a suspension. The Club involved will also be subject to a fine.

I know most here are Rangers fans…
I also know some here are clueless about the actual game of hockey…
Clown…Rozi is not the worst Defensemen…did you just see one play…your comments prove you to be just that…a clown

He owes the nhl an apology ? The NHlL owes the Rangers an apology for all the BS they have to put up with every single fuggin game. I don’t hear apologies after Orr gets 5 mins for a bs penalty, and all the non calls, and the stupid suspensions, and the non suspensions, and the garbage security in Washington.

Fugg them all.

Torts needs to ignore all this, and move on, and everyone else should. I wanna see how all of you would react if some random pussy was talking crap aboot your family, loved ones, or who ever. The Charles Manson follower could have been saying he wants to kidnap his daughter, and turn her into a murderer, and none of you would do something aboot it ?

I stand by Torts 100%. I feel bad for the chick, but im sure she’s making this more than what it is, it;s a fuggin plastic bottle, you’re not hurt, blame your fellow moron fans for it.

Torts & Brooks get heated~~~~They blew up on each other at practice because Torts refused to discuss his suspension and Brooks questioned why Torts says it’s not important. The audio should be WFAN.com soon

Embarrassment? This franchise has been an embarrassment from day one. Whether it be only four Stanley Cups in 80+ years, or having the highest payroll in the league and not making the playoffs for seven straight seasons, or handing out ridiculous contracts to merely average players (during a salary cap era no less), or bringing back a player that nobody in the league considered claiming off waivers.

I love this team, but let’s be honest here, Torts’ actions certainly aren’t any more embarrassing then the facts I listed above. He should definitely have apologized to the innocent woman he hit, but an apology for defending himself is certainly not necessary considering the circumstances.

It was the job of the Washington Capitals security staff to ensure a safe environment for the Rangers, especially after repeated requests. In my opinion, BOTH Torts and the Capitals should issue apologies for hitting an innocent fan (Torts) and for allowing a reckless atmosphere to escalate into a situation where someone might have been seriously hurt (Capitals).

Was the water bottle full when he threw it? Because if not then the person that got hit is overreacting. It couldn’t be completely full because he already doused down some white trash, but was it full enough to actually have some momentum when thrown? If it was full then he should apologize, to that person.

read the stupid sather letter, this was bound to happen Ramsey warned security not once but twice.. What can’t you understand about that.

NY media thinks they are so smart and they often are the outrage police.. Pouting water and thrwoing a water bottle is not great nor smart behavior but get real….

Again Carp use the same vim and vigor on the Betts malicous knock out and the phantom Dubi biting incident!!!!The evil Rangers plant the teeth marks on Dubis arm??

Reall man where is the outrage over that???Brashear getting suspended and the rangers slosing Betts, is that fair CARP????

You think in your astute mind the Brashear incident was not premeditated? Approved by the coach?Please share your insight on that with us, I really want to hear your opinion? Then after the league blows it off, please give me your insight on that?????

Itan, Brashear is getting suspended today, you can bet your house on that. There is still some thought that it was another Cap who may have bitten Dubinsky. I’m sure that is being reviewed as well.

But you don’t think Tortorella owes you fans an apology or an explanation? Wow! Talk about blind loyalty while your franchise does another Titanic on you?

I am not biased against. Or I wouldn’t be doing this. I don’t care one way or another. If they move on, it’ll be great because blogging here is a blast. If they don’t, then I can go back to having only one full-time job. Either way works for me. But I am NOT biased against.

Brooks is a piece of sh*t, he’s trying to piss off Torts, and get him to react in a bad way.

He doesn’t have balls, he’s the Jarko Rutuu of reporters, and is embarrassed that Torts made him look like a fool in front of the other reporters a few years back, and now he’s trying to be all tough when he talks to Torts.

I bet my right nut if Torts started pounding this guy, he’d go into turtle mode, and scream for security.

guys- check this out from nhl.com:
The Rangers haven’t ever blown a 3-1 series advantage, and if the collapse becomes complete, chances are good Tortorella won’t keep the job very long. There’s no blaming Bettman for his fast-fading fortunes, but if a coach is going to get fired, it should be for his failure to control the players out on the ice in front him; not because he lost his temper for a moment trying to shut up a few goons spitting and spewing vile language from the seats behind his back.

are you kidding me? how can this guy think torts will be fired? he just got here and yea, ok, its not like he turned the team around that much, but he just got here with a bunch of soft, passionless, pansies as his team. they quit on renny, they quit on torts, get rid of these freakin overpaid free agents that dont care cuz either they already got a cup, or they are old and washed up. if anyone needs to be fired its slats. yea, torts did some stupid things and hasnt exactly got these guys playin that hard, but you give him some guys that care, maybe he can get somethin done in his time here. and yea, he shouldve apoligized to the woman. thats it. it is kinda immature but i dont really blame him. f the caps phony fans. the woman should get pissed at the retarded drunken idiots that started with him. id like to see them try that crap not from behind the glass. but in his face. yea, they would get a beatdown ny style!

I find it interesting how the press operates with this sense of entitlement. Tortorella should discuss his suspension just because Larry Brooks says so? Tortorella doesn’t owe anyone a public apology or explanation. If he wants to contact the woman he smacked on the head privately, then that’s a different story matter.

Carp again Brashear getting suspended is that fair? Is it fair or jsut gross incompetence of the highest order that no official caleld a pentaly on the Brashear play?

Again do not insult my intelligience by acting like Brashear getting suspended shows fairness, or mediates what he did to the rangers and to a good persons health!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do not insult us, by acting like brashear being suspended is justice………………

The sad thing is that the only line with energy last night was Cally-Dubi-Korpi. The young guns! I love to see it and that, my friends, is our future.

Whether we win or not tomorrow is irrelevant. If we win, we will get stomped by the Bruins and the only things in our favor tomorrow are (a) that we are HUGE underdogs and (b) that we have lost 2 straight and this is the NHL.

Now let’s imagine it was Orr who caught OV with that elbow, shoulder, punch….what would have happened?

And how the refs can watch a replay in Boston but not in NYC is a joke. Shouldn’t there be a consistent rule? I mean what would stop the refs from watching the replay at intermission? But the Bruins game ref can watch the Jumbotron and make a call? That seems horribly inconsistent. Truth be told there should be an instant replay booth in Toronto watching and calling all those penalties. It would clean up the game.

Torts is hypocritical. He blew this series. Benching Avery and then acting like an imbecile in game 5. Just pathetic.

I like when I come here annoyed at the league (or whomever else at the time) and leave annoyed at our own fans. I hope Brashear is suspended for Game 7 and uses the extra time to elbow No Country in his racist face.

I agree with you 100%. I think Tortorella is being an absolute clown in this situation, and he does owe it to Ranger fans to speak about it. What’s he doing is trying to deflect some of the spotlight off him, because he knows he made a huge mistake. I think he’s a big, whiny hypocrite. His act has already worn thin on me and it’s been 20 games plus playoffs. I can’t even imagine how some of the players must feel playing for this jerk.

Coach getting suspended for the biggest game of the year.. completely inexcusable no matter what spin you want to put on it.. especially for an incident w. fans.. if torts was coaching yest.. ran on the ice.. and used Voros’ stick on Brashear’s face then yes Id feel a little better about the situation.. but would still want him behind the bench for a game 7… Brooks is doing his job by asking the question..

Is anybody looking for entertainment for birthday parties, bachelor/bachelorette parties or your company picnic? It looks like my schedule will have some openings in the coming weeks so I can get back to doing what I do best.

Carp, no one cares because it’s done. Anyone who has a decent sense of hockey know they game would have been lost Tortorella or no Tortorella. It’s not blind loyalty; it’s common sense.

And he’s right. You media types don’t need his opinion about it. You obviously made your own already anyway, so what’s the point?

I really find it interesting you would rather bury the lead and continue with this “He owes you guys an apology” rather than point out the fact that the refs completely blew it on two blatant foul leading to a facial fracture and a human bite. Seriously?

“Blair Betts has a broken orbital bone and a concussion. Brandon Dubinsky has definite bite marks on his right wrist. And Colin Campbell will be speaking to Donald Brashear within the hour with a suspension more than likely being handed down today.”

CALLING CAMPBELL WATCH THE F_#$%#% Dubi REPLAY OVER AND OVER AND OVER UNTIL YOU GET IT RIGHT AND THE GUY SITS WHO BIT HIM-END OF STORY….DUBI is a tough tough kid-wouldnt make that sh– up…..

stuart, I never said it’s justice. Somebody said we should be discussing the Brashear suspension. I said he will be suspended.

I also said yesterday it was a horrible non-call by a horrible referee. It should have been a penalty immediately, and then when they saw Betts’ injury it should have been a five-minute penalty and a game misconduct. No doubt about it.

JBytes, so you, too, are OK with your coach not being on the bench for a playoff game? Wow.

Now I need to go back to transcribing the quotes from today’s practice.

From what I saw, the problem was with security in Washington. They should have been there a lot faster than they actually did, it went on for to long. Yes Torts was wrong but even a mild manner man can put up with just so much. Should he apoligize, well you know if he did it wouldn’t mean a thing any way. Wash fans would have to apolgize as well.

Can we just concentrate at the game at hand now, I don’t blame Torts lets move on and win this game.

did anyone see the ranger fan get head butted by caps fan yesterday after the game in front of garden?? note to ranger fans, dont put your face in someone elses, ever, unless you are kissing that person or plan on headbutting them…

WHAT TORTS DID IS OBVIOUS, HE BLEW HIS TOP HE LOST IT.
NEXT
RANGERS NEED TO CALL UP THE FIRST AIRBORNE DIVISION.
THE RANGERS ARE PUNCH DRUNK FROM PLAYING ROPE A DOPE.
I HOPE THEY DO NOT QUIT, HOW ABOUT VALI IN NET, THE KING LOOKS LIKE A PAUPER.

I was at the game yesterday and was EMBARRASSED at our fans… We boo our own team more than Brashear. Yes, they played AWFULLY yesterday and their inspiration level was on par with having to dig your own grave but ask a fan during the end of the regular season if we would have thought it possible to even be going to a game seven and they would have taken it in a hard beat. The fact of the matter is that we need Hank to play out of his mind to win…and that IS ok. Great players do that and I have no doubt that Hank has another HUGE game in him. He has more or less owned Ovie over the course of the series.
And another gripe… it isnt the players fault Sather over-paid them. As a player, if an agent says I can get you XXXXXXXXX, you say yay or nay. I agree completely that some of our “stars” havent performed to a level that is becoming but the bashing on Drury has to stop. We will later learn he is playing through a broken wrist.
Come on Rangers, lets shock the NHL and take the series home. I am venturing a 4-3 win for the blue-shirts… with one of those goals coming from Staal.
GO RANGERS.

larry brooks shouldve asked him why his team plays with zero heart, and why former 30 and 40 goal scorers cant hit numerous open nets and glorious chances on a 20 yr. old rookie who never played a playoff game. all i know is, after what happened in game 5, and all the bs officiating, they shouldve came out ready to tear some cap heads off and get some payback, but they folded badly. but really, the only problem i had with torts is putting voros in at all. he wasnt as bad yesterday. he tried. forechecked a little better, but artie wouldve been a major upgrade. other than that, torts has been fine. we just dont have the front end talent to get more offense. and it looks like redden and rozy are back to suckin again, as well as morris and mara, who were decent upo until few games ago.

Personally I think Torts should take accountability (not sure he needs to apologize to anyone but his players and the lady he hit with the bottle), but I also think if he doesn’t want to answer the question publicly that’s his right. Brooks is trying to stir the pot, that’s what he does.

What I find interesting is how the NYR beat reporters are so confrontational with Tortorella, but gave Mr. Nice Guy Tom Renney a free pass for years. Whether you like your subject(s) or not should not play a role in how you report about him/them.

i’m bored … just asking: what if Avery had thrown the bottle and gotten suspended? Or Orr? Or Zherdev? Or anybody else? How do you think Torts would have reacted to that? Do you think he’d hold them accountable?

its not a positive obviously that torts wasnt on the bench….but schoeny knows what is going on….didnt matter who was coaching yesterday-didnt matter if they had lemiuex and messier-the defensive breakdowns cost us plain and simple but relax with the coach not being on the bench….i could roll these lines out there and the same results would occur

dubi-callhan-korpi-they play hard all the time, lack the killer instinct of putting the puck in the net but are true rangers that are most keepers

drury-useless-thinking about how he is gonna spend his money this summer at yankee stadium….prob buy some more don mattingly jerseys

naslund-washed up and can no longer finish and too small for the eastern conference

antropov-great shot, looks the hussel/urgency needed in the playoffs

gomez-skates around everyone and has no one to pass too-cannot shoot

zherdev-lol

orr-cant play hockey but is the enforces

voro-lol lol

sjostrom-good role players shows up every night,
betts -good role player shows up every night

You would think that cablevision brass would have learned something about PR-101 with the whole Isiah Thomas fiasco.

Torts IS NOW becoming the story, since he is refusing to answer questions about Waterbottle-gate. If he issued an apology to his team and rangers fans (at the very least) and to the woman he hit (though he might not be able to do that for legal reasons), we could all move on.

Instead, he persists in maintaining his stance and the distraction lingers. Everyone should be focused on prepping for Game 7, instead Torts is playing games with the press and the front office is issuing stupid letters to Buttman.

Torts should have given the team a hard skate today, because they certainly didn’t skate hard yesterday.

Would be nice if the Rangers Fans had as much passion as The Caps Fan’s. You guys booed and threw trash on the Ice for game 3. You show up to the games late leave early.
Your team plays with no passion. You have the worst A hole in hockey Avery. That Punched John Erskin in the face. Smashed the end of his stick into Jurciana breaking his nose and making him bleed. High Stick to Pothier’s face. Pothier a man who was out of hockey over a year with a bad concussion and vision problems. Real Classy.
Oh and Colton Orr Clothslining Semin. Mike Green getting Boarded. Ovechkin getting tripped twice with no call.
Have the Caps Complained Once? Nope they have not. Your team sucks you had a hot goalie and we cooled him off. Your coach is a hot headed a hole also and we exploited that. It’s playoff hockey that’s what having home ice is all about. Of course the fans are gonna get into the opposing teams head when your right behind the bench. We have dominated the whole series and find ourselves down 3-1 of course we are gonna be loud and crazy, we deserve to win.

carp, what these people do not understand is your a journalist you have to ask these questions and no matter how much a fan you are or how much you like a certain person or team you have to question there judgment and point out when they are wrong.

Carp be outraged at the missed call as outraged as you are at Torts. Obviously what Torts did was wrong no doubt about it. And it is true read the sather blather it was coming they warned the caps security twice. Be outraged at that also….

All we are saying is be fair in your outrage; torts worng, refs missing the brashear paly ridiculous, the dubi bite outrageous… they are all terrible but who has suffered? Which team got screwed?/ Is it debateable???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

As well as your Caps fans booed your team off the ice when you lost Game 2.

If you win the series, I’m sure every fan on this board knows that was the most likely outcome heading into the series. But if the Rangers pop gun offense can push the Caps to a 7th game then I sure don’t like your chances against teams with actual bona fide scorers.

Once this is over, I just want someone to find out what the hell happened. Carp, having been a sportswriter I understand how hard it is to confront professional athletes and coaches with questions they’d prefer not to answer, so I defintely appreciate the way you guys have to get in there and dig. But really, how did a team coming off a superlative effort at home to gain a 3-1 series lead suddenly unravel into a team that looks more like the Lightning than anything else?

I am not saying the players are thinking that, i truly think all of them (well besdies drury think they can and should win tomorrow)…but as fans that dont make our livings that way we can imagine anything and everything and discuss anything and everything-bottom line is if we had a draft between the two teams the first 5-6 players besides hank would come from the caps-they are bigger, they are stronger,they are more skilled….they have the best player by far in the league….

for all ranger fans they have less talent then the other team it is not debateable, can they win the series still? Absolutely..

The Ranger margin for error is very small when you have a very weak offense. We are not making excuses for the team but let’s be real, they were a 7 seed for a reason…..

The Caps are more talented and that makes the brashear incident and the Dubi biting even more outrageous. .Again I like hitting and fighting and tough play but give me afriggin break, possibly ruining someones career!!!!!Biting a fellow player!!!!!!!!!!!!

Campbell: Good, I’m doing well too. Listen, Donald, I’ve reviewed your clean hit on that guy you hit cleanly, and since it wasn’t Sidney I’ve determined that your clean hit was indeed, a clean hit. I just wanted to wish you luck in your victory tomorrow. I have told the refs to call a penalty on anybody that touches you. Be careful out there, Donald. We wouldn’t want to return you to the zoo all banged up. Well I have to go rub lotion on Pierre’s head, I’ll call you soon!

DudleyK: “I was at the game yesterday and was EMBARRASSED at our fans…”

—-

You’re wrong here. Rangers fans had every right to boo the team out of the building last night. Rangers were aweful, putrid, horrible, rotten, boring, listless, you name it.

I was at the game too and I was surprised the booing wasn’t much worse. It should have been much worse. We paid for an NHL playoff game and we didn’t get one. I see more heart and effort in my son’s 6-year-old hockey clinic on Saturday mornings than the Rangers had the past 2 games.

I think EVERYONE is forgetting a few crucial facts…

DudleyK: “but ask a fan during the end of the regular season if we would have thought it possible to even be going to a game seven and they would have taken it in a hard beat.”

—

WRONG AGAIN: This series should have been over in 5 or 6. Never should have gotten to 7 games. And if you asked me at the end of the season if I would have wanted a game 7? Not like this…not with zero effort and work coming from the team.

An apology from Brashear for intentionally assaulting Blair Betts and purposefully intending to injure him.

An apology from Green or whoever who thought it’s just fine to chow down on an opponents arm during the game.

An apology from the NHL officiating crew that had the gall to call the Betts hit clean and were seen laughing with Brashear at the end of the game while Betts was probably being tended to at the hospital.

An apology from the Russians who found it funny to stand over Hank and gloat on Kozlov’s goal.

An apology from Chris Drury for pretending to be a leader and pretending to be a good play.

An apology from Scott Gomez for all his lame jokes and useless play.

An apology from Naslund, Zherdev, Redden, Rozi, etc for refusing to compete and disgracing both their jersey and the fans who follow this team.

An apology from Buttman and Colie for purposefully seeing fit to get the match up Buttman will be yankin his pud to in the next round.

An apology from Hank for somehow forgetting how to stop the puck in such a short amount of time.

An apology from the Capitals organization for the lame BS security they provided even after being told about it repeatedly.

While Torts doesn’t owe the NHL anything, he sure better have apologized to each and every player and coach of the New York Rangers, especially Sean Avery. His philosophy on not making stupid and selfish mistakes applies to torts just as much as it does everyone else, and all he did was make it out to seem that some are above the law, that some need not apologize for putting the team in a tough situation. If I was a player in that locker room, I’d sure be pissed at the coach right about now.

I’d love to ask Torts what hurt the team more: Avery’s boneheaded penalties at the end of game 4, or his suspension during game 6?

And Carp, I couldn’t agree with what you’ve said in your posts and comments more. I, as a fan, want an apology from Torts for putting us in the position we’re in now. Yes, the players are responsibly, but so is our coach, or should I say, lack there of.

I’m with Torts – if he doesn’t want to talk about it then LB should just shut up about it. He doesn’t want to be the story and hasn’t since he’s been here. This isn’t news and the story shouldn’t be about him. Period. Let’s talk about game 7.

Am i the only one who things we still have a chance tomorrow night? Despite the embarassing performance the last two games we still have a goalie capable of shutting out anyone.

Gomez needs to be better, Cally/Dubinsky need to finish, and Hank needs to be perfect. Regardless of the outcome I dont think you’re going to see a blowout here.

This series is a complete reflection of sather’s inability to put a competitive squad on the ice. CLEAR SPACE FOR GABORIK — then maybe you all will stop complaining about gomez’ lack of points when he’s not passing to pure clowns.

You media guys are hilarious – if a player/coach/manager refuses to answer a question from you guys, you all get indignant, get your collective noses out of joint and write articles slanted to make the subject look like an ass. Meanwhile, time and time again, the media has no problem ripping said player/coach/manager, sometimes without even ensuring the facts are correct. And God forbid if said player/coach/manager says something inpolite about a media person. Hilarious!

Journalists always go off on coaches and players whenever when they refuse comment on an issue. It’s understandable since it makes their job more difficult, but it’s also normally, in my eyes, an extremely negative view on the issue. Tortorella’s job is to coach the Rangers, not to make the media’s job easier or to win their favor. At the end of the day, whether or not he wants to talk about the suspension isn’t that big of a deal. How the team fares tomorrow and the next few years is.

Tortorella should have issued an apology, what he did was way off base and not only wrong but has hurt our chances to win this series. He benches Avery for stepping over the line and he procedes to leap over it himself. Get off your high horse and get this team prepared for game 7. Lets beat this team in their home building and ruin the NHL’s dream match up that they so desire.

It’s interesting how the same fans who yell at Carp and his colleagues for not being tough enough in interviews…then criticize Carp and his colleagues when they get tough in interviews. I didn’t realize righteous outrage could be so hypocritical.

Not sure how I can be wrong in being embarrassed? I can however tell you that taking out your frustrations with the Rangers on my previous post wont go to far in making your Monday any better.

I was embarrassed because while there is still a chance to win, you need to at the very least, not make your favorite teams job more difficult. Booing Hank? Yes, that does embarrass me.

As to your second comment, you are right, it should have been over in 5 or 6 with a Capitals victory. I am a HUGE Rangers fan and believed that we had a shot based on Hank and the new attitude demonstrated by the team post Renney. That being said, the Caps were a 2 seed for good reason. They have a hell of an offense, solid depth, and are playing inspired and confident hockey. If someone had asked me prior to the series if I would have taken a game 7 to decide the series, I would have smiled and said, “you bet… bring them on.” I was at our overtime winner against them in the regular season and I’ll take Hank over Ovie in that scenario as he is on the ice the whole game (provided he makes it to the 3rd ;-) )

I guess what I am getting at is… two fold.

1) You aren’t Miss Cleo so dont tell me how I feel

2) Pretty silly to say you wouldnt take a game seven “since they are playing uninspired”… good thing the Caps didnt take that advice when they were down 3-1 in the series.

GREETINGS, THANKS FOR THE UPDATE.
DON’T FORGET TO WRITE WHEN YOUR CAPS GET KICKED OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS, IF YOU CAN’T SWEEP A SATHER BUILT TEAM YOU REALLY
ARE A GANG WHO CAN’T SHOOT STRAIGHT.
IMAGINE ALL THOSE EARLY FIRST ROUND PICKS AND STILL FAILING.

Well, no surprise on the exchange between Torts and Larry. They have quite a history. I wonder if Torts would give the same response to other reporters. (Torts once told Larry to “get the **** outta here” during a post-game presser (its on youtube and I don’t know if its posted already in one of the other 7,000 comments – I cant go through them all).

I for one actually think that in light of the NHL memo, Torts is lucky this was only one game. Any sort of violent interaction with the fans is the wors possible scenario for any sport. The NHL could have given him 10 games. And yes, he should say something about it, even if he feels he doesn’t have to apologize (wrong or right, THAT is his call).

Boomer Esisason said what he should have done was marched the team off the ice in game 5 until the situation behind the bench was fixed. Not a bad thought.

The reason people say Renney got a free pass is he ANSWERED EVERY SINGLE QUESTION. They might not have been the answers we wanted to hear, but at least he answered the questions. Torts has refused to answer countless questions over the last 3 months, which is why he’s had more of a contentious relationship with the media than Renney ever had.

You can not make chicken salad out of chicken sh#*.
The Rangers are a below average NHL team with a sometimes above average Goaltender. When their strength is weak King Henrik it a obvious result. The future of the Rangers are a handful of young men like Dubinski and Callahan and Stahl and Girardi and maybe a few others coming up the pike like the the BU player. Redden, Vorros, Zherdev, Drury and sory to say Gomez just plainly not putting out the effort. Zherdev does not get the NHL game and therefore should head to Russia… It will be many years of mediocre Rangers teams I am sorry to say, but lets face it we are used too this. Frankly they have been lousey for more years than the few years that they had the passion and ability and fight.
Drury wearing a C is a huge joke they should pick another letter in respect to what Messier brought to the C Jersey.

What a pathetic franchise. Tort has no clue. How can he expect his players to be accountable if he cant be accountable? It starts from the top.. and Sather is is the worst… That letter to the commishiner is a joke. Just like our franchise. Hopefully both the Devils and Rangers can pull it off tomorrow though.

What I find interesting is how the NYR beat reporters are so confrontational with Tortorella, but gave Mr. Nice Guy Tom Renney a free pass for years. Whether you like your subject(s) or not should not play a role in how you report about him/them.

……….

Great point, twin.

I think of all things Rangers Co. could and should be apologizing for in the grand scheme of things, Torts’ episode is pretty low on the totem pole. Much rather see Slats actually comment from time to time on his awful decisions over the last decade.

I’d also rather Torts bite his tongue than give some bullsh1t apology. Too many “apologies” in the world today, they are usually not heartfelt.

The reason people say Renney got a free pass is he ANSWERED EVERY SINGLE QUESTION. They might not have been the answers we wanted to hear, but at least he answered the questions. Torts has refused to answer countless questions over the last 3 months, which is why he’s had more of a contentious relationship with the media than Renney ever had.

……..

duely noted… fair point. Renney was a talking salesman though with zero substance behind his words. I still cannot believe he maintained his coaching position that long. The man is NOT a coach.

Big fuggin deal that Torts didn’t apologize or want discuss the suspension. Good for him. He stuck up for his players which is something he preaches and doesn’t criticize any player who does. He never addresses “off the ice” b.s, so why should he be forced to answer to Larry Brooks (Of all people)? All of this second guessing is ridiculous. He used bad judgment he got suspended get over it. He benched Avery, get over it. It’s our lack of offense that deserves this negative attention, not our coach.

Have a dentist match the teeth marks on Dubinsky’s arm with the bite marks found on the pencil in John Voight’s (the dentist) car.

I love Torterella throwing a water bottle at these loser Cap fans. Bunch of slobs they are who don’t know a thing about the sport, just mindlessly “rock the red” when their team actually has a winning season. I live down here with these fans, they are the worst.

What I don’t love it how this team has rolled over and has taken this from the Caps. For that I am ashamed to be a Rangers fan today.

I would get rid of everyone minus Cally, Duby, Staal, Girardi, Henrik, Antropov – gutless wonders the rest of em.

Carp:
As far as game 7 , as you know my heart says Rangers somehow play well, the only players with the resume (Drury, Gomez and Lundquist step up), the kids play great (Dubie, Cally and Staal), and the rest of their role players do their job. My head and common sense tell me this is impossible. So my glass is half full again and we win 3-1.

As far as your disagreement with Itan and Brandon and others, sorry I agree with them. Coach Torts has the right to say he has no opinion, and to say lets move on. Brooksie has the right to continue to be a pest and ask over and over (to a point), and coach has a right to tell him to write what he wants on that subject and move on.

Carp- I agree that he should have issued a vaugue apology, but if he says he’s sorry for it and the lady decides to file a lawsuit against him that can backfire bigtime I would think. He comes off a tough guy when he does it, which if I was a reporter would rub me the wrong way as well, but I’m sure MSG told him not to address the issue-

One thing though Carp, can you see if the league is investigating the “bite”? If they aren’t even looking into it after the marks along with Dubi having to get a shot, it’s certaintly a joke-

still looking for a video link to the bite on Dubinsky. I saw the blood during the game. He has teethmarks on his wrist. I would love to see the video.

Carp, I didn’t read all these posts so I apologize if this is a repeat question but if there are teeth marks and he denied biting him, isn’t there a way they can investigate this further with those teeth marks? What a disgrace to hockey. And nhl fans have a lot of nerve to criticize Sean Avery.

If Anisimov gets called up just to practice and does not play tomorrow night I think I might scream. U want to play Colton Orr, fine, U want to play Voros, fine, but pick ONE of the two, cuz they will end up serving the same purpose, a physcal presence, Voros has the slightest bit more chance to score, Orr has a much better chance of winning a fight, not that there will probably even be one.. so pick your poison, and have Anisimov fill in for Betts. Its simple.. These 2 guys should not both be dressed its an absolute no brainer

Apology is an admission of guilt. The lady will probably think of suing the Rangers. Of COURSE the NYR organization has told Tortorella to not speak about the incident until they can reach out to the victim and figure out some sort of settlement.

I Barack Obama do solemnly apologize…
For the bite marks on Mr. Brandon Dubinski’s arm.
For Mr. Brashear’s cheap shot to the orbital bone of Mr. Betts
For SUV’s
For the Ranger’s Power Play.
For Mr. Torterella’s actions in Game 5.
For Mrs. Clintons pants suits.
For using oil.
For Drury’s broken wrist.
For the outlandish contracts given to Mr. Scott Gomez, Mr. Christopher Drury, Mr. Wade Redden and Mr. Michael Rozival.
I apologize for Sather not signing better players.
I also apologize for Club Gitmo, and for holding people who want to kill us…let them roam free.
I apologize to Mr. Bruce Boudreau for looking like Humpty Dumpty.
While I’m at it I apologize to the water bottle…just because its water, a most precious resource.
Please accept my sincere apology…everyone please!
I apologize that I just want everyone to like me!

Next time the NHL brass get together this needs to be discussed. Fighting isn’t whats wrong with hockey this nonsense that Brashear pulled is. He was mad that Cally hit him a little high so he took it out on the next guy he saw(if you remember mr. poster child AO then started taking runs at cally, leaving his feet et. al, the rest of the game)I have no doubt that Brashear will do what was done to him by McSorely one day to someone else, it could have been Betts. In the parlance of our times Torts does need to apologize, not to Brooks though, but he shouldve been the responsible hockey coach and pulled the team off the ice. Then that fat piece of crap Boodro would have to apologize for having bum fans. As for tomorrow…Aves-Gomer-Cally, Lori-Dubi-Antro, Naz-AA-Shoe, Voros-Drury-Z

Torts, should apologize; he talks about accountability and he holds none???
Please, what he did was 10 times worst over Avery’s dumb actions. Example: A civilian robs a person, which is bad. But if a Police Officer commits the same crime, it is worst. Why? Because you are the one that is suppose to set an example to the public. You as a Coach need to set an example to your players and the fans. Doing something like throwing a bottle is inexcusable. You owe it to the team and the fans to apologize and take responsibility.
Geez, some people here are just so blinded by their loyalty. If it was reverse and it was Ovie or their coach throwing a water bottle and hitting a woman, everyone here would be calling for arrest warrants.
There are no excuses for throwing things at fans. It is stupid and inexcusable. This is why he should and needs to apologize.

Patrick, you’ve hit the nail on the head. If the security situation was as dire in Game 5 as the Rangers have made it out to be, Torts should have pulled everyone off the bench and kept them off until it was resolved…much the same way baseball managers have kept players in the dugout when fans have started throwing objects on the field.

I feel bad for Brashear, the only reason why he has a wife, is because he’s an athlete. If he wasn’t, that guy would be the 40 year old virgin. Poor Mrs Brashear, how can you get it on with something that looks like that.

He looks like ET’s sh*t.

Definitely one of the more uglier players in the game, along with Sundin, Brindamour, and my personal fav, Ricci !!! I saw him the other night in OT, he still has the long hair thing going, just a little bit shorter.

I gotta admit, i felt so bad for him when the crowd would chant “Ugly, Ugly”, lol poor guy. I got nothing against him though. He reminds me of that guy in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The guy who took that Cameron’s car for a joyride.

Paul Mara’s beard~(formerly I miss the 78-79 Rangers)
April 27th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Rick Carpiniello April 27th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
still looking for a video link to the bite on Dubinsky. I saw the blood during the game. He has teethmarks on his wrist. I would love to see the video.

Carp, I didn’t read all these posts so I apologize if this is a repeat question but if there are teeth marks and he denied biting him, isn’t there a way they can investigate this further with those teeth marks? What a disgrace to hockey. And nhl fans have a lot of nerve to criticize Sean Avery.

From Adam Rotter of SNY
Also, Brandon Dubinsky needed a tetanus shot yesterday after Shoane Morrison apparently bit him on his right wrist. During practice today the bite marks were evident on Dubinsky’s wrist.

The last bite was this season when Jarko Ruutu bit Andrew Peters. It was captured on replay and Ruutu was suspended. Similar incidents, but the League did reference Ruutu’s recidivistic ways when they handed down the suspension, a crutch I’m sure they’ll use in this situation with the relatively clean Morrisonn.

oh and regarding Larry Brooks, I wouldnt tell him my opinion either. Larry Brooks might be the biggeset douchebag writer of all time. He NEVER has anything positive to say. In 94 after game 7 it was probably “Well we should have had this in 5 it was a disgrace it went this far” He will find the negative in the most positive of things. He oozes negativity. I dont even know why I read any of his articles, but I am just so interested in seeing whether he finally has something good ever to say. Good for Torts, tell him to sit his ass back down, NEXT QUESTION

Nasty
I agree with you that the caps created a shit load of chances more than we did but that has happened every single game. The difference is that we capitalized on the chances the first couple of games while they did not. Now is the opposite. For as many chances as they created and as little chances as we had we still only lost 5-3. You can say that the last period didnt count becasue the Caps knew they had the game and did not play 100%. We still lost 5-3. If we net those 3 empty net shots then the game is different.

And I dont take it personally Im just used to how my teams (Rangers, Jets, Mets) never make anything easy. So I had a feeling that the 3-1 lead is gonna disappear.

Oh my god, I was working at the bar yesterday so did not get to see every single play, and i saw the very last second of when Naslund shot it into Varlamov. What I did not see until just now on the re-airing of the game on NHL network was the entire play. HOW DOES NASLUND GO TO THE BACKHAND THERE.. jesus christ are you kidding me, i dont care if the puck was on end when u put it down from his glove, just bury it forehand, he had the whole net, and took it back to th middle on his forehand where the goalie was sitting. That was more pathetic than i ever could have imagined. the fans were still cheering for the previous goal score, the ROOF would have came off if naslund puts that in. game is ENTIRELY CHANGED from that one play, I cant believe a goal scoring veteran like that makes such a poor play/decision. Just dont make mistakes like that on Tuesday and we can win this thing. Shoot from all angles, just as Drury did on that play. Get a bounce here or there and we will see round 2, LETS GO

oh and regarding Larry Brooks, I wouldnt tell him my opinion either. Larry Brooks might be the biggeset douchebag writer of all time. He NEVER has anything positive to say. In 94 after game 7 it was probably “Well we should have had this in 5 it was a disgrace it went this far”

Rob, your imaginary quotes spells out all that is wrong with your argument. Reporters are not part of the “We.” They are not fans. They don’t have a rooting interest. To want or expect them to do so is completely off-base.

Adam, there is a difference between encouraging reporters to ask tough questions then criticizing them for doing so and encouraging reporters to ask tough questions but also acknowledging that Tortorella does not need answer them, and furthermore that reporter criticisms of Tortorella for not answering the questions are coming from an understandably, biased perspective.

Fugg the Crap fans. They spit on him, he reacted. His actions had nothing to do with the game, and didn’t lose them the game, Avery’s actions almost costed them the game, and could have potentially blew them the series if the series hasn’t already been blown.

Rob M – Sorry, but you’re wrong. When the Rangers win, Brooks writes glowing articles. I actually think he tends to swing way too far in the positive direction at those times. Go read the write-ups he did of the Rangers wins in this series, where he says things like “Naslund is skating on a pair of legs that appears to be 10 years younger”(paraphrasing). You know that if it was the Caps coach involved in this incident, the people here would be demanding an apology. I applaud Brooks for applying the same standard to our own coach.

Pretty high minded stuff, looking for an apology from a hockey coach. Is it really Tortarella’s responsibility to give a story to Larry Brooks, who will just take it out of context aor make something up, like he does 90% of the time? Come on. If you guys want to be journalists, do the sport some good and instead of feeding on this low-hanging sensationalism for a living, get to the bottom of the Nashville “Boots” Delbaggio disgrace. THAT is hockey’s Watergate, not Torts throwing a water bottle. Do that work, and then your indignation will have a little credibility.

5. After getting booed out of Madison Square Garden during his three-plus seasons as a Ranger, Capitals defenseman Tom Poti got a little revenge on a warm New York Sunday. The former Boston University star scored a goal and added three assists in the club’s series-tying 5-3 win over the Rangers. In a postgame television interview with NBC, Poti was quick to say how nice it was to score a goal at MSG. I’m sure it was, Tom. As he skated off the ice, Poti mockingly put his hand to his ear, listening to the sound of silence. I would imagine it sounded pretty darn good. Hey, Poti is no All-Star, but during his stay with the Rangers, fans unfairly blamed him for every problem within the organization. On Sunday, if for just one day, he got the last laugh.

Hey Rick can you please tell us what position you and Brooksie are fighting over at The Washington Post?

Please talk about the battle at hand, Game 7 and if you want look into yesterdays allegations otherwise stop beating a dead horse, Torts will talk about it when the playoffs are over or as we call it Wednesday (Just Kidding)

5 minute major may have changed things in game 6 but with our PP who knows, all I know is that it was dirty and somehow the Refs turn the other way when it comes to the Rangers, perfect example is the Orr 5 minute major against Pittsburgh that did not knock out or break Eaton’s orbital bone, the NHL is an inconsistantly run and officiated league.

Greetings from your poor sister in BUF…. watched your game yesterday…. Look at it this way, if you win, you’ll only get to meet a stacked Boston team that’s been resting for days…. which, ironically, is owned by one of the richest guys in Buffalo. Oh, the irony is making me sick!

Funny, the Sabres cheap out, you guys spend like crazy… and yet both teams ultimately go nowhere…. there is a lesson there somewhere.

Wish you luck tomorrow, but I don’t see it happening….Better luck next season as they say….

Hey, maybe your guy got bit by a vampire, a la “Twilight”…. New Moon is coming out in Nov.!

CARPINIELLO IS AS CLASSLESS AS IT GETS!!! HOW UNPROFESSIONAL IS THIS GUY? TAKIN CHEAP SHOTS AT THE COACH..WHEN HE IS THE LEAST OF THE RANGERS PROBLEMS. WE FINALLY GET SOMEONE BEHIND THE BENCH WHO CARES…WHO TAKES THE LOSSES AS HARD AS US FANS. CARPINIELLO PROBABLY NEVER GOT THE TIME OF DAY WHEN TORTS WAS PREVIOUSLY WITH THE RANGERS. CARPINIELLO IS EXACTLY WHERE HE BELONGS…HE GOT S**TCANNED FROM THE RANGER BEAT AND IS COVERING HS SPORTS..

BuffaloGal, we’re under the cap, just like all the other 29 teams. Your trillionaire owner cries poor, spends hundreds of millions on fruitless runs for governor, and lets your best players go for nothing.

“He won three games and I think it’s nuts for him,” Ovechkin said Monday. “He can’t win every game like that if the team doesn’t help him. It’s going to be hard for him to stop the puck and have some opportunities and some luck — and I think he knows that, too. If we’re going to play the same way, probably they won’t have many chances to win the game.”

Everyone come off the ledge now! It is 3-3 to a team that is much better than ours. Yes, the refs blew to Betts call, but let’s get on with it. Lundqvist WILL play well tomorrow – the key questions is will any of these veterans show up? In place of Betts and Voros – I would dress Mark Bell and Anisimov. The Ape will not be playing and fighting means nothing tomorrow. Bell is a big body with good hands. I would also consider benching the ineffective hobbit drury. One more thing – who has all the pressure now. Rangers get 30 shots and good goaltending and we win tomorrow!

Nah LArry Brooks is the most negative individual ever, maybe since its the playoffs he started getting happy with the wins i havent read anything since end of the regular season. Ill never applaud him hes a piece of garbage, and I dont know what he has been watching because not jsut becase of the open net he missed yesterday, but I think Naslund has been invisible like a lot of other rangers forwards all series long, he scored in game 1, thats about all he has done, he is a step behind, he tries to make spin-o-rama backhand shots from the top of the circle 25 feet from the net, when that woudlnt even work if he was 2 ft in front of the net. I have always liked the guy alot too in vancouver, real classy guy, but he has not been skating on a pair of legs 10 years younger, not even close..

Carp, et al — I’m okay with waiting for Tortorella’s apology (to the fans) to come after the Rangers season is over, whenever that is. Divided We Fall — there is time enough between Spring and Fall for all that stuff. I suspect he’s already apologized to his players, as it will make a difference to them now. Fans don’t score goals.

I’m gonna guess that the writers are helping the Rangers by saying that none of them expect the Rangers to win tomorrow.

Tortorella is standing by his policy seeemingly since he has been here that it is about the players and the game, not about him, when he refuses to talk about his suspension. So he is following his own rule, and there is nothing wrong with that. If he regularly talked about himself and then decided to keep his mouth shut on this (like Avery does a lot), then I would have an issue. He should only apologize if the person that he hit with the bottle was not involved in taunting the players, which it sounds like is the case. I wonder if someone grabbed that bottle to put it on eBay!

Voros should be the healthy scratch tomorrow; there is no question. Have Korpikoski center the fourth line and give Anisimov a chance with Dubinsky and Callahan.

For tomorrow’s game I would consider moving Korpikoski to the Drury line for Antropov. Antropov would be the best finisher on the Callahan – Dubi line and Korpedo might be able to wake-up Drury and Naslund. Whatever he has to do, Torts needs to get Antropov more ice time, I think he is poised for a big game tomorrow.

Too bad the guy that hit Nancy Kerrigan’s ankles died, I was going to try to start a fund, to see if we can pay him to deal with Redden.

I would go back, but all that would happen is that Pearn would run after me and say, “Hey you, get your damn….hands….off…him.” And then I would go to punch him and he would twist me arm back and knock me out.

Ovechkin is absolutely right. The Rangers have left Hank out to dry, banking on superhuman goaltending to get their half-assed effort by. It isn’t working. Yes, Lundqvist needs to be better, he looked shaky in those 2 games. But without any support, anyone would get exposed. The team is playing like trash in front of him.

NEW YORK (Apr. 27, 2009) – The National Hockey League announced today that New York Rangers forward Blair Betts has been suspended for two games for interfering with and obstructing Washington Capitals forward Donald Brashear during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Final Series.

The incident occurred 9:54 into the first period.

“While it is a difficult decision to suspend a player at this point in a Playoff Series, it has been made clear to all of our Players that the National Hockey League cannot—and will not – tolerate any blatant obstruction fouls,” said NHL Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. “We do not take this action lightly. It is the result of an entire day of investigation and evaluation that included the retrieval and review of videotape of the incident and discussions with Mr. Brashear.

“That investigation revealed that Mr. Betts purposely placed himself in the path of Mr. Brashear, obstructing his forward progress and preventing him from retrieving the puck and prevented a scoring opportunity.

“While, in these circumstances, it always is easy to allege mitigating circumstances, the fact is we will not tolerate these actions. The reputation of the National Hockey League as an institution of fairness requires us to take the appropriate action.

Referees Brad Meier and Bill McCreary were also reprimanded for allowing Betts to cause a stoppage of play and not making the appropriate call of 4-minutes for Delay-of-Game and Interference.

You guys are my two favorite posters
Only ones who are still taking with some sense

And Nasty, I got your predicitons down, lets hope they come true!!

Come on Ranger Fans series tied 3-3, Game 7, In washington.
Who even thought we’d ge to 7 games to begin with? (Other than myself!)

Can we talk about how huge an upset it will be if we win tomorrow night? How embarassed and disgraced Washington will be with all there talent, and scoring titles, that they lose to a bunch of misplaced Rangers with no scoring abilities?

The pressure is on Washington.
And I’ll say this right now, if we win tomorrow, Staal and Gomez should doa mokc jump salute like scumvechkin and Semen did in our house.

Obviously I want the Rangers to win, but if they lose tomorrow let’s hope Dolan wakes up from his no music-talent drug-induced haze and shows Slats the door. This team better be prepared to eat a few hugh contracts in the off season. Next thing is we’ll find out Sather has bad taste in women like Isiah and it will go from bad to worse.

MikeyNJ you are spot on. Forget about rubbing it in. It is much easier to play when you play without pressure. The Caps have it all now, as everyone expects the Rangers to mail it in. Let’s hope our guys have some heart and play with ****ing emotion!

You guys are my two favorite posters
Only ones who are still taking with some sense

And Nasty, I got your predicitons down, lets hope they come true!!

Come on Ranger Fans series tied 3-3, Game 7, In washington.
Who even thought we’d ge to 7 games to begin with? (Other than myself!)

Can we talk about how huge an upset it will be if we win tomorrow night? How embarassed and disgraced Washington will be with all there talent, and scoring titles, that they lose to a bunch of misplaced Rangers with no scoring abilities?

The pressure is on Washington.
And I’ll say this right now, if we win tomorrow, Staal and Gomez should doa mokc jump salute like scumvechkin and Semen did in our house.

The New York Rangers have recalled 20-year old Russian center Artem Anisimov to replace injured center Blair Betts, who suffered a broken orbital bone and concussion as the result of a late hit by Washington Capitals forward Donald Brashear on Sunday. Rangers head coach John Tortorella refused to confirm whether the Hartford Wolf Pack’s leading scorer will make his NHL playoff debut in game seven of the Rangers – Capitals series on Tuesday, but should he be in the line-up, the Yaroslavl native will have a little added incentive to score: Anisimov is good friends with Washington Capitals goaltender Simeon Varlamov, who came up through the Lokomotiv hockey school with the Rangers’ top prospect and was teammates with him on Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the former Russian Super League and on various Russian national junior teams.

maras beard- did u see towards the end of the game milbury and the head were callin avery the idiot. then emrick and gonzo were having a good chuckle about it. these guys and the league praise ovechkin up the arse,even when he had about 30 shots on goal and not 1 single goal yet in the series at that point, and never say anything about the way he leaves his feet when hitting people, only if hes playing against crosby, but call avery “the idiot” for the world to hear, yet hes never seriously injured anyone like brashear did to betts, but they call avery names, and nothing about brashear. its ridiculous, i dont get why the league hate the rangers so much. hate the flyers, there the scum of the league

I picked the Rangers in 6 at the start of the play-offs,So I was 1 game off.We win in 7.
Com’on really If you were told that this series was gonna go to 7 games at the start would’nt you say,, Hell yeah.
I sure would……………………………………. Most people we were done in 5 or 6 at best.

You know, some people think that just because they buy a ticket to a sporting event that they can hurl objects and abuse at players and coaches and there shouldn’t be consequences. Well, there is a line that was crossed and pissed of Torts and people act like he’s a rotten guy for being human.

As far as the team goes, it’s not a lack of effort that hurting them (OK, maybe it is with Zherdev The Invisible), but it’s a lack of overall talent. Aside from Callahan, Dubinsky, Staal, Girardi and Lundqist I can’t see anybody on the roster that’s worth keeping in the future.

Of course when you sign marginal players to big contracts like Drury, Redden, Rozsival then you’re limited in what you can do.

I think it is highly disingenuous to attack Tortorella on his lack of commentary or public apology without pointing out the obvious, that he has likely been instructed not to do so due for legal reasons. Maybe he should comment but we can all guess very easily why he is not. That’s the way the game works. Where is the call for the Caps to apologize for the situation they allowed to exist?

both Brashear and Mike Green were called on the carpet by the league. they both are getting a disciplinary hearing this afternoon. Brashear will be suspended for sure, because the pre game thing is automatic, not to mention the dirty head shot on Betts

and apparently it was Green who did the biting of Dubi. he may get suspended too. that would really help the Rangers

the Caps lost both games at home when Brashear was not in the lineup. and of course Green is their best dman and PP guy on the point

as much as i wanted the pens to lose in their series, it was quite funny watching carcillo fight talbot while up 3-0 and in the span of 50 some odd seconds, pens score 2 straight and then tie a few minutes later. somebody should tell the guy that fighting while way ahead in the game usually gives momentum to the losing team. and while he was skating away to the box wavin his arms in the air to get the crowd in it, talbot was smilin the whole time. reminded me of something voros would do.

Can someone, anyone (Carp?) please tell me why no one is talking about the Dubi biting incident publicly?…Torts mentions Betts but nothing abourt Mike Green biting Dubi?..And Why isnt green at NHL headquarters for a hearing….Why is this beiung ignored..much worse than a late hit even if hit did knock out Betts..Just dont get it!

SO FUNNY: It’s funny people are asking for a full 60 minute effort, when the Rangers fans can only muster a 40 minute effort themselves in game 3 and 6. Real fans dont give up on the team in the playoffs.

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Rangers fans aren’t obligated to do anything. And rangers fans aren’t giving up … just look at the activity on this board the day after one of the worst single-game playoff performances in rangers history. If I recall correctly, we pay the Rangers salaries. If a fan shows up to a game and wants to boo (because the team is playing like crap), it’s his/her right…he/she paid the admission.

If the team blows and there is nothing to cheer for, what are fans supposed to do? Cheer for a half-assed effort? cheer for bad defensive coverage? Cheer for not winning many loose puck battles? Cheer for not finishing their checks? Cheer for missing wide open nets? Rangers fans aren’t like Debbies fans, who cheer every time Brodeur farts.

You give Rangers fans something to cheer for and the house will rock. Play like crap, we’ll let them hear it.

I like Tortorella, but he messed up, plain and simple. He couldn’t control himself. That is a problem. Is it the end of the world? No, but coaches need to be in control.
Yet the Rangers have still been outplayed, and without Lundqvist stealing a couple of games, they would have been easily swept by the Caps. Pittsburgh whined a lot last season — the Rangers shouldn’t stoop to that. Does Detroit whine? Did the Caps whine when they were down 3-1? When Jagr and Shanahan were here, this team was not a bunch of lazy complainers.

Hey ya cant blame the guy for being right. Do you remember when he called out Renney when the Rangers blew that lead? He said “They just stopped playing hockey” Like Jagr he has a pretty sarcastic sense of humor during his interviews – maybe its a European thing? Either way, I wish wish WISH he was on this team.

I agree to an extent. If a fan who paid their hard earned money wants to boo, that’s their prerogative. But the most effective method of getting the players to NOT play like crap is to get behind them. Fans can inspire the players, we just don’t see it much at MSG. I laugh every time I hear that the Rangers have the some of the best fans in hockey. Remember that game in Montreal where we took an early 5-0 lead I believe it was. The Montreal fans just cheered louder (and jeered the refs into dumb calls) and got their team inspired. They came back and won. THAT is what a fan should do if they’re not happy with the performance. Inspire them to play better, rather than boo them which usually will only make someone be more down about themselves. If you want to boo, you should save it for after the game if you ask me. They’ll still hear it. Also, when the game gets going our fans always sound awfully quiet UNTIL they’re given something to cheer about. Why not try and cheer the team into giving you something to cheer about? It comes down to the fact that it seems like many of our fans have a sense of entitlement. Just my two cents.

Also, I don’t get why we’ve not heard more on this Dubi being bit thing. Surely that’s quite a big deal?

Torts should say that he will apologize as soon as Brooks apologizes for all the phony columns he has written touting big trades that never were anything more than figments of Larry’s fertile imagination.

you cant get to these people any other way. these reporters, commentators /espn/fox/nbc/jim nantz, think they are gods. It’s time to start defaming them and libeling them. that should get their attention.

I would like to think that Rangers players would respond to the excitement and noise Rangers fans make at a game, but I haven’t seen it this year. At Sunday’s game, it was loud at the beginning of the game and when the Rangers were putting pressure on the Caps in Period 1 the crowd was going nuts.

Then suddenly, after the 2nd Caps goal, the Rangers gave up … no other way to look at it. Fans could have screamed their heads off and nothing would have changed…Rangers didn’t show up to play. And if that is the case, what are they gonna do in DC? If a professional player in any sport needs inspiration from the fans in order to perform, they aren’t very professional

And you refer to the Montreal game. If you watch the game, the Montreal fans were getting louder and louder when the canadians were putting a lot of pressure on the Rangers, taking a lot of good shots, finishing checks, pressing the rangers in the rangers zone. THAT is when the crowd got back into the game, not before. It was a graveyard before the Habs picked up their game.

Rangers never picked up their game after the initial 10 minute push last night and that is inexcusable.

I always stay the full regulation time at any sporting event simply because of the old cliche’ “you never know what could happen.”

That being said, especially in today’s economy, people pay a lot of money on season’s tickets, individual games and concessions, so no man should ever tell another man how to watch a game.

Of course, if you’re of the coming late and leaving early variety, you’re in a different conversation, but if you’re a diehard fan and you’re pissed off, and you’ve watched enough hockey in your lifetime to know when a game is over, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with bouncing and trying to salvage what’s left of your already ruined day.

Personally, I bounced with 5 minutes left in the second after goal #5. Nothing could’ve kept me there. I was absolutely infuriated with the lack of effort.

I totally agree. I’m usually the one getting angry at people leaving the games early, but yesterday I left with 7 minutes left in the 3rd, after the rangers failed again to capitalize on another 5-on-3.

I would have stayed until the end no matter the score if the rangers were actually playing. If a team is giving 100%, no matter if they are over matched and outgunned, you never know what will happen. But you’re right, they gave up, so no reason to stay.

Ramsay alerted a security guard and later a security supervisor, the letter said, but the offending fans were not removed from their seats.

“We will follow up on the Rangers’ request, as appropriate,” NHL spokesman Frank Brown said. “We had already implemented additional security procedures for Games 6 and 7 and we don’t anticipate any further problems.”

Brown added that the Capitals would not be penalized for anything that happened in Game 5.

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this is what pisses off Ranger fans. Caps security was notified by the trainer, yet they let it continue. they get no punishment, and the fat drunken slob gets nothing

Rick – Did any of the beat writers realistically expect Tortorella to talk about the suspension?

It seemed a little like throwing gas on a bonfire after the first “no response”. I don’t like Brooks’ attitude or column in general but I’ll give him credit for not backing down.

Personally, I could care less whether Tortorella talked about the suspension or not. His and the players only obligation to me as a fan is to try hard to win. I haven’t been impressed with Tortorella or the majority of the player’s efforts during this series.

Larry Brooks the worst piece of crap hockey writer stood up to Torts? Actually it was Torts standing up to Brooks the muckraker. A guy Rangers players have hated for decades.

Rick you say you lost respect for Torts? You might want to look an see what the general public thinks of the media. The media is a joke nowadays and the NY media is the worst. I’m glad Torts stood up to the vultures in the media.

This is clearly in the 50% of the time where Brooks is blovating/grandstanding/and or auto-fellating. The guy is New York’s own version of Al Strachan – interesting half of the time, and an utter tool the rest.

Shoney had the best comment on the matter – that he hadn’t been trying to hold Torts back, but rather was trying to help him over the glass.

The NHL is a joke, Avery trash talks and almost gets banned from hockey while the animal Brashear gets suspended but is welcomed back to The NHL. The Rangers aren’t blowing this series because Torts got suspended or Avery’s benching, plain and simple this is a poorly constructed team that is on Sather. Most of these Rangers are overrated by the fans.These guys are not that talented. While cream rises to the top so does crap. Lets not fool ourselves. If the Rangers blow a 3-1 lead then maybe Dolan will notice and take a second look at the fraud Sather. He got the players and gave average players big bucks Renney and Torts are doing the beat they can with this garbage team.

JS-
I did see the Ranger fan get headbutted after the game. That fat guy in the Caps jersey with the giant head, tinted sunglasses and child molester goatee was just mad because some 50 something year old Ranger fan, gave him a walk by punch in the face when he was standing there with a shit eating grin on his face trying to fight people and talking smack as if he was out on the ice and won the freaking game himself.

Perhaps you are his friend who was also talking smack but ran away almost wetting himself when the Ranger fans began to converge on them and police escorted him away.

So note to you JS, when you are in someone else’s house show some respect. If you can’t do that stay the hell out, nobody wants you there anyway.

Tortorella hasn’t issued apology to the woman he hit with a bottle because at current time he is concentrated and focused on the game 7. John Tortorella ordered to undergo Anger Management classes (without Avery) after game 7.
Dubinsky received antirabic vaccine after being bitten by Morrison, who has a history of rabies.
Brashear enjoying his time in massage salons now.
Blair Betts, after head shot, (or elbow) has an amnesia, and totally forgot that he is an NHL hockey player. Doctors are working on him to get his memory back. Fortunately they have enough time till next season starts.